Triple Sight
by Kibuka
Summary: Naruto was helpless to do anything but watch as Curare plunged the two Senbon into his eyes. Then all he could think about was the pain. Slight re-write.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: **This is going to be an AU that diverges from the beginning of the series for obvious reasons that will become apparent. It will also address some glaring issues, not least of which is Naruto's incurable idiocy. Naruto is 7 in this chapter and has been in the Ninja academy for almost a year. Reasons will be explained. Probably. Maybe. This has not been beta'd so all the grammatical mistakes are my own and I apologize. For those wondering about the title: it is an allusion to a John Keats Poem; not a blood line limit. You don't want to get me started on how much I loath stories were Naruto has a blood line limit.

* * *

Naruto was a prankster; everyone knew this.

He'd been pulling them, to varying degrees of size and complexity, since he was 5.

The Headmaster at the orphanage refused to step in when the other children beat Naruto up? He put laxatives in his tea. A merchant refused to sell him supplies? Naruto applied liberal use of stink bombs to the interior of his establishment after hours.

The instructors at the Ninja Academy neglected and ridiculed (subtlety of course) the gaps in his knowledge that he had no parents to fill in ? He put itching powder on the toilet paper in the teacher's lounge. Naruto was bored? He drew mustachio's and genitalia on the Hokage Monument.

Naruto was a prankster; everyone knew this.

Which was why when noxious gas began bellowing out of a store front and a water tower exploded across the street; Naruto knew he would be everyone's first suspect.

So, despite the knowledge that it wasn't his fault and a burning curiosity to find out who was responsible; he quickly slipped away from the gathering crowd before someone noticed him. Taking the nearest side street Naruto wove his way through the maze-like back alleys of Konoha and didn't stop until he was five blocks away.

Naruto knew Chunin, most likely Iruka-sensei, would track him down for questioning eventually; but for the time being he was free to wander the winding back alleys and ponder the cause and culprit behind the commotion.

Cupping his hands behind his neck as he walked and tilting his head up to look at the sky, Naruto considered the situation.

Contrary to popular belief, Naruto wasn't the only prankster in Konoha. He just happened to be the most (in)famous. There were two others, Eji and Yoshi. The former was now a full fledged Ninja and the latter was the only son of minor noble. Both were older.

Several times in the past they had gotten together in secret, compared notes and achievements; and issued challenges to see who could out prank who. Because of this Naruto knew Eji and Yoshi fairly well. They were in fact some of the few people in the village who didn't treat him like trash.

Though, he wouldn't call the three of them friends exactly.

Being a noble Yoshi mainly kept to the more affluent parts of Konoha and rarely socialized with the common folk, and as such Naruto never saw him outside their clandestine meetings.

Eji, like Naruto, was a commoner; a first generation Ninja in fact, so Naruto sometimes passed him in the streets. They would exchange a nod and the occasional wave but that was all.

There's was more of a 'professional relationship'; a mutual respect for one another born from a shared disrespect of authority and a love for a good prank.

Naruto Knew Eji and Yoshi fairly well, which was why he immediately ruled out Yoshi.

The noble's son specialized in graffiti and generally only tagged places high up and in plain view of the entire village. Yoshi also felt strongly that destroying something in the course of a prank was neither funny nor in the true spirit of a prank.

In that Naruto usually agreed with him. Usually.

Eji, while never having resorted to explosives before, was sometimes prone to a little destruction of property if he felt it fit the prank. Like, say, causing the toilets in an upscale restaurant to backup and overflow during peak hours. In the middle of summer.

That particular event became known as: 'Toilet Gate' and was the talk of the town for an entire month.

When Eji had admitted to Yoshi and Naruto later that he was the one behind it, Naruto had laughed till his sides hurt. The thought of all those rich people in their finery having to trudge through sewage kept a smile on Naruto's face for months. Yoshi, on the other hand had not been amused. Though that might have had something to do with the fact that he was in premises when it happened.

So, while blowing up a water tower seemed a little extreme, Naruto could see Eji doing it if the older boy thought it was needed. Except, ever since Eji graduated the Ninja Academy he hadn't pulled a single prank. He had in fact informed Naruto and Yoshi at their last meeting that he most likely would be giving up his prankster ways in favor of focusing on his Ninja career.

So.

That left three possibilities that Naruto could think of. Either there was a new player in town that he was unaware of, Eji had decided that he wasn't quite ready to give up the prank or what happened wasn't a prank at all. And if it was the third possibility then that begged the question: what exactly was it?

Definitely food for though.

Glancing at the position of the sun, Naruto figured it was close enough to noon to make his way over to Ichiraku's to provide some good food for those thoughts.

He'd only made it a block when the wind shifted as he passed by the mouth of an intersecting alley and Naruto's steps faltered. Turning in the direction of the scent (his 5 senses had always been preternatural), he tilted his head up and scented the air again to be sure. Definitely blood. Human too, and by the smell of it fresh.

Naruto frowned as he altered his course to take him down the alley towards the scent. Moving silently, Naruto carefully followed the ever increasing potent smell down two more adjoining back streets until he came to a stop outside the semi-burned out building that it was coming from.

Naruto recognized it. It belonged to a fabrics merchant who was currently under investigation for insurance fraud and arson. He knew this because he'd initially been blamed for the fire that, had it not been for an unexpected storm front that passed through, would have burned the place to its foundation.

Though even with the rain the building still sustained severe damage and to Naruto at least, didn't look all that structurally sound. The brick of the walls were blackened and cracked in places, windows had been blown out by the fire and parts of the roof had caved in from a combination of the flames and the storm that put it out.

The wind shifted again carrying with it the full force of the coppery ichor mixed in with soot and ash. As he wrinkled his nose in distaste, it occurred to Naruto then that with as strong as the stench of blood was from outside the warehouse and with as far away as he was able to pick up the scent, that whoever it belonged to was most likely dead.

That gave him pause.

A ninja in training or not; he'd never seen a dead body before, most likely wouldn't either until the 4th year of the academy during the cadaver course; and he had no great desire to change that just yet. Then there was the chance that a Chunin that wasn't Iruka-sensei would stumble upon him overlooking the bloody form of whoever was in there and draw the wrong conclusion. After the arson fiasco Naruto could count on one hand how many people he knew would take him at his word.

But if there was the smallest chance that whoever was in there was alive and he left them when he could have helped Naruto didn't think he could forgive himself.

Compassion won out.

Naruto made a quick circuit around the building looking for a suitable entrance before deciding the back looked to be the safest entry point. The brick-work seemed relatively undamaged and the blown out window 15 feet above looked like a good entry point.

Using the skill that had impressed and convinced Old Man Hokage that he should be allowed into the academy a year early, Naruto channeled chakra to his feat and ran up the wall as if gravity were his play thing.

Naruto grabbed the lip of the window seal and swung himself up, over, and inside but did not let go.

He hung there for several moments letting his eyes adjust to the darker environment before dropping to the floor.

From inside the smell of smoke, soot and mildew overlaid with that of fresh spilt blood was almost overpowering. As it was Naruto had to use the collar of his shirt to cover his nose.

He navigated through the gutted interior as best he could, freeing his nose from his collar from time to time to make sure he was headed in the right direction. Melted spools of what once were silk or satin or cotton lay littered amongst the ash covered floor. Every once and awhile he would pass a spool of mostly intact material on a mostly intact rack.

Small miracles.

His nose was taking him towards the front of the building, which he noticed absently, had sustained considerably less damage. Naruto was approaching what he figured to be the offices when he saw the footprints in the ash.

Two sets.

They started at the mostly intact doors on the left side of the warehouse and continued through the door way into the offices 30 feet in front of him. The only problem was Naruto knew for a fact there hadn't been any such door when he'd checked the outside for a safe way in.

Which would mean a Genjutsu. A Genjutsu that stood up to touch. Which, if he remembered Iruka-sensei's lecture correctly, meant high Chunin to low Jounin level skill. All of which added up to Naruto getting the hell out of there and going straight to Iruka-sensei or Old Man Hokage.

A plan he would have followed had the owner of one set of those footprints not walked out of the office right then and there with a bag containing what looked like two severed hands.

Naruto turned and ran for the door.

He managed three steps before he lost all feeling below the neck and was able to stumble another two before he hit the floor face first. In between his racing heart, trying to not inhale ash, and scream for help ( he couldn't seem to find his voice); he could hear the steady crunch of ash under boot.

He had never been more terrified in his life.

The boots stopped just inside his field of vision as his assailant crouched at his side and proceeded to search his pockets. Quick and efficient he found and took Gama-chan before turning him over and repeating the process.

Naruto coughed up ash and soot as he tried to blink the same from this eyes.

The hands left him and he was able to clear his eyes enough to get his first good look at his assailant.

It was a man. Average height, average build, average looks and average everyday clothes. In fact, everything about the man was average. Achingly so. The type of person you could see everyday but never really notice.

The man peered down at him (Naruto absently wondered what had happened to Gama-chan and the severed hands) and regarded Naruto with his average brown eyes.

"Sorry you had to see that kid."

Even the man voice was average. Underneath the fear and shear terror Naruto felt an upwelling of annoyance.

"Don't bother trying to scream or move. The Senbon I hit you with contained a powerful paralytic mixture. "

The man smiled slightly. "The names Curare and as the name implies poison is my specialty. Not too shabby with acids or Genjutsu either."

A frown quickly replaced the smile as he looked toward the door Naruto tried to escape through.

"I don't know what your doing here or how you got past my Genjutsu. Unless…," the man frowned and reached down to trace the whisker marks on Naruto's cheek.

Eyes wide, Naruto tried and failed to flinch away.

Curare nodded to himself when the marks didn't come off.

"The only one of the 6 senses Genjutsu can't really fool is the sense of smell. A member of the Inuzuka clan like yourself, even a kid like you, probably smelled the blood a couple blocks away."

The annoyance from earlier was beginning to push up against the fear. He was _not _an Inuzuka. Even if it meant being part of a family Naruto didn't think he would want to be if they all smelled like that Kiba kid from the playground.

Curare looked up at the windows and nodded to himself before returning his attention to Naruto.

"Came in through one of the windows no doubt," he gave Naruto a once over. "Your what, 6 maybe 7? A little young for the Academy but not complety unheard of. Clan probably considers you a prodigy."

Curare paused briefly as he eyed Naruto's bright orange and blue jumpsuit. "Though I can't imaging they approve of your fashion sense. "

Naruto wanted to scoff at that. He was an orphan and nearly everyone in the village thought he was an idiot or worse. And why did everyone criticize his clothes. He liked orange damn it!

All he was able to manage was a mix between a cough and a wheeze.

Curare smiled and shook his head in amusement. "All that planning. All that time and work I put into finding a secluded location, preparing the Genjutsu and it was almost undone by an Academy student with an overly sensitive nose."

The smile slipped from his lips as Curare locked gazes with Naruto. "I really hate killing kids. Especially ones that would no doubt grow up to make me a lot of money in the Bingo Books. But you've seen my face and my handiwork. Can't let you live after that."

He shrugged as he pulled two more Senbon from his sleeve. "Nothing personal kid."

Naruto tried to scream for help, tried to will his body to move but it was no use. He found it difficult to simply breath. He was helpless to do anything but watch as Curare plunged the two Senbon into his eyes

Then all he could think about was the pain.

Outside on the roof across the street a shadow watched as a non-descript civilian man walked out from the alley adjacent to the building its mark had entered. Instincts screamed that something was wrong, and after only a momentary pause to create a Shadow Clone to follow the man, the shadow darted across to the building and slid through the same window as Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

**End Note: **Anyone who might have been following this story will probably notice I've re-written the first chapter and deleted the second. I'm currently giving the second chapter the same treatment and hope to have it re-uploaded by the weekend. I also apologize for long delay in updating. I've been pulling 12-15 hour days at work (I'm a paralegal) and haven't had much time for myself. On the up-side I'll have made nearly 70k with over-time. Mmm, money. Any feed-back is welcome and encouraged. It is, after all, the only way to make this story better.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note:** I actually went back and watched the episode were Naruto first meets the Kyubi in his cage to get a feel for such and encounter. A lot of that is reflected in the first part of this chapter. Also, apologies for the delay in posting. I went skiing on the 10th (last minute), dislocated my left thumb on my first day and only just got back. Anyway, read on and enjoy. Or don't. It's your choice.

Darkness; all encompassing and as unfathomable as the space between stars. A sense of falling, as if tumbling down a great hole. He fell for a thousand years into darkness.

Faces passed him materializing out of the black, some he knew with great fondness, others he did not evoked hate and anger. As suddenly as they appeared they were gone.

Then abruptly, and without transition, Naruto was no longer falling.

He was standing in a sewer that stretched on and on, water lapping at his ankles and the cracked and yellow walls that rose up on either side. It smelled of stale tears; felt like pain, loneliness and heartbreak. It felt like home.

_Splish splash, splish splash_.

Naruto was walking without having remembered moving, the sound of water parted by sandaled feet a steady rhythm as he passed corridors leading off to parts unknown. Paths he knew, without knowing, lead to destinations both more and less frightening than where this one was leading him.

In the dream, because surely this must be a dream; Naruto realized he was following the chakra trail of something vile and vast. Something he knew, with the implacable certainty that only come in dreams, did not belong to anything human.

Up ahead a door way of light beckoned and with his next step he was suddenly through. Naruto stood before a great cage set into the wall and as his eyes traveled up, up, up; they came to rest on a lone slip of paper adhered to the bars: Seal, it read.

"What is this."

"**My prison."** The voice that answered rolled across Naruto like the crashing surf and as he peered into the darkness beyond the bars, eyes the color of pooling blood peered back.

"**Boy, come closer."**

He complied despite every shred of his being screaming: danger, danger!

Naruto had only managed two steps before claws the size of full grown oaks scythed out through the bars narrowly missing him as he stumbled back in fear and shock.

"**I want to devour you, but this gate will not open. It is a detestable seal."**

Naruto stared up at the terrible sight; eyes that promised destruction and a wicked smile that told of the enjoyment that would be taken. Awareness of what exactly this creature was crashed down on him and with it came the knowledge that this was not a dream.

"You're the Kyubi."

Answers to questions left unanswered for 7 years suddenly became clear. All the dirty looks, cold shoulders and undiscouraged bullying. The outrageous prices charged by merchants or the down right refusal of service. It all made a sick perverted sense.

The Kyubi's smile widened at the awe, fear, disgust and anger that dawned across Naruto's face. It read the next question in his eyes.

"**But how can I be here; and where exactly is here you ask, if the Yondaime killed me?"**

Naruto found himself nodding even as the answer came to him as his eyes were drawn once again to the seemingly innocuous slip of paper.

"He sealed you into me," Naruto reasoned. "And we're in the seal."

It made sense. The Yondaime was a seal master, supposedly the greatest that had ever lived. The academy instructors hadn't focused over much on that particular skill set of the Yondaime's during history lessons, but Old Man Hokage had mentioned it in passing when Naruto had asked him about the man.

It stood to reason then that Yondaime would turn to the sealing arts for a way to defeat what was thought unbeatable.

"**Indeed, boy. For a human your Yondaime was extraordinarily cunning."** There was a grudging respect in its voice, Naruto noted.

"**He knew he could not kill me so he invoked the power of the Shinigame and sealed me inside a newborn. You."** Kyubi narrowed his eyes as a growl rumbled up and out like rolling thunder.

"**I am beginning to think it is a fate worse than death."**

Naruto bristled. "Yeah, well maybe if you hadn't attacked Konoha you wouldn't have gotten your ass handed to you." He was standing within arms reach of the cage now, righteous indignation fueling his tirade and any fear Naruto felt toward the Kyubi previously was pushed aside in its wake.

"And how they hell do you think I feel about having you sealed inside me, huh. I've had to put up with more shit than anyone should ever have to because of you!"

"**Silence."**

Naruto matched the Kyubi glare for glare but said nothing was something in the Kyubi's tone that cautioned him against pursuing the argument any further.

"**I brought you here for a reason, boy. And it wasn't to debate the moral and ethical merits of my past actions."**

Naruto was bombarded with images: The scent of blood, a burned out warehouse, severed hands and an unknown assailant. Paralysis and then pain. He remembered.

"I'm dying." The Kyubi's eye's narrowed and Naruto was forced to amend his statement. "We're dying."

Kyubi growled deep and it resonated like a thunderclap. **"You were careless boy. You allowed yourself to be poisoned. I can feel it coursing through your veins, shutting down your organs one by one as we speak." **

The Kyubi's words were dripping with scorn and disgust.

Naruto slammed both fists against the cage. "Then do something you damn fox!

Kyubi was suddenly towering over Naruto and for the first time during their conversation its chakra spiked in anger. **"Do you think me a fool? Do you think I want to die trapped inside this pathetic shell of meat and bones? Or at all? **

Kyubi's claws raked out toward Naruto again forcing him to fling himself backwards. He landed hard on his ass, the Kyubi's claws raking deep furrows in the ground as they retreated behind the bars.

Kyubi leveled Naruto with a gaze that carried behind it the weight of centuries. The Kyubi had once been immortal, but now it found itself bound to a human who was subject to the laws of death. Nauto understood then. The Kyubi was afraid.

"**Under different circumstances I would demand you remove the seal."** Kyubi spiked his chakra to forestall the protest he could see Naruto was about to voice.

"**But with the seal the way it is currently, we both would die and the resultant backlash would destroy a large section of Konoha. Both outcomes you would like to avoid I'm sure."**

"So, what can you do then," Naruto demanded. Pushing himself back to his feet, he approached the cage, this time with more caution.

"**I can give you a portion of my chakra to purge the toxin and bolster your immune system.** **But you must ask for it. This retched seal prevents me from forcing it upon you." **

Kyubi snorted in distaste. **"Even to save your life."**

"And if I agree, then what."

"**Then I will have done everything I can, boy. The rest will be up to your own will to live and the human doctors of your village."**

Naruto did not want to die and it was obvious the Kyubi didn't want to either. And while he couldn't be sure Kyubi was being entirely forthcoming with him, he also couldn't think of any other option.

Despite the circumstances Naruto managed one of his infamous smirks. "What the hell. It's about damn time you started paying rent anyway, bastard fox. Let's do this."

Red tendrils of the Kyubi's chakra surged out from the cage and rapped themselves around Naruto almost before he was done speaking.

The Kyubi let out one last bone rattling growl before turning his back on Naruto.** "It is done, now be gone, If I must die I wish do so with dignity."**

Naruto's vision turned red as the Kyubi's chakra fully enveloped him. There was a momentary feeling of warmth and then a pain so excruciating his mouth snapped open in a soundless scream. Then blessed nothingness.

* * *

There were few moments in Sarutobi's life when he felt as useless as he did now.

From his place at the back of the OR he was relegated to an observer. ANBU-2 stood at his side. A wraith in human form. He had summoned this particular ANBU for the unique skill set he possessed. One Sarutobi fervently hoped would not be needed.

In the center of the room Naruto's small form lay limp and unresponsive on the operating table. His personal physician-Takani Megumi-was running a diagnostic-jutsu even as the machines monitoring his vitals issued an electronic report of their own. A breathing tube snaked out from his mouth providing the precious oxygen his lungs could no longer draw in on their own.

Naruto's ruined, empty eye sockets stared up at the ceiling; a Med-nin used a steady stream of warm water to cleanse the wound of the blood and ichor that was all that remained of his once vibrant sky-blue eyes.

A second Med-nin was drawing blood for analysis while Doctor Takani issued orders that the rest of her staff scurried to obey.

Though he was not a medical professional, he understood enough of the terminology to piece together the picture. Naruto had been poisoned and the agent that was used was causing a cascade failure of his organs.

His respiratory system had all ready failed and his cardiovascular system was on the verge. The damage to his eyes was minor in comparison.

Sarutobi struggled to maintain an air of calm as his emotions raged beneath the surface.

It wasn't supposed to turn out like this. Naruto wasn't supposed to grow up without a mother or father; wasn't supposed to have to live a life shunned by his peers and elders, a victim of bigotry and short sightedness. He wasn't supposed to have to learn how cruel and unfair life could be so early in life. And he wasn't supposed to die before he'd reached the age of 10.

Naruto deserved so much more than what he'd been able to give him. And he damned himself for that every day.

His senses perked up and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end. Beside him ANBU-2 stirred; he felt it too.

Doctor Takani snapped off the diagnostic-jutsu in alarm. A split-second later Naruto's chakra…shifted and everything went to hell.

A seal, intricate in design and singular in nature, blazed to life on Naruto's stomach. The machines monitoring his vitals went haywire; unable to make sense of the impulses they registered. His body arched off the table, startling the Med-nin and his mouth opened, expelling the breathing tube in a spray of blood and mucus.

Then he screamed.

A torrent of red chakra blazed up and around Naruto with such force that those closest to him were thrown against the walls like so many rag dolls. The machines hooked up to Naruto exploded in a spray of sparks and bits of metal and plastic.

The chakra saturated the room; thick and heavy, it beat on the air like the wings of some great and powerful bird.

He knew this chakra. Kyubi.

"Tenzo!"

Sarutobi was moving even as he barked the order, his hands blurring through the seals for the Shadow Clone technique. Four exact copies of himself sprang to life a moment later and darted forward to pin Naruto down.

Beside him Tenzo was finishing the seals for his own, much more elaborate Jutsu. He ended on tiger, braced his right arm with his left and thrust his right hand forward.

"**Wood Release: Hokage-style Sixty-year-old Technique-Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-bringing Hands**."

The ground shook as a circle of wooden pillars broke through the hospital floor around Naruto. Eleven in number, they pulsed with power as they sought to contain the torrent of Kyubi's chakra. As if in response the mass of energy swirling around Naruto intensified. Sarutobi's Shadow Clones were destroyed almost immediately under the new onslaught and the wooden pillars groaned in protest.

Around him Med-nin struggled to their feet, hampered by various injuries and the sudden chakra laden atmosphere. Fear rolled off of them in waves as the reality of the situation dawned on them. Doctor Takani alone had managed to regain her footing and retain a certain amount of calm.

Sarutobi could feel the panic spreading through the rest of the hospital and out to the surrounding area as people felt the Kyubi's chakra, contained as it was, and remembered the fear from 7 years ago. Soon, he knew, whole squads of his ANBU elite would be arrive with steal in their hands and death in their hearts for a boy forced to carry a burden to heavy for any one person.

And just as suddenly as it began it stopped.

The corona of chakra surrounding Naruto cut off and his back slammed down on the table. The seal on his stomach glowed for a few more seconds and then it too disappeared.

Tenzo held his jutsu for a few second more then let it drop. The ground trembled and groaned as the pillars retreated and he sagged in fatigue, drawing in short ragged breaths.

One short Shunshin later Sarutobi was standing over Naruto's still form. He searched for a pulse and found one. It was faint but there.

Doctor Takani joined him a moment later and fired up a diagnostic-justu to take a more in-depth look.

Several agonizingly long moments later she snapped it off and looked up at him in shock.

"That burst of chakra: it appears to have almost completely purged the toxin from Naruto's system." She shook her head in wonder. "The Kyubi…I think it just saved his life."

Sarutobi shoulders sagged in relief. And as he gazed down at Naruto's still form he did something he'd never thought he'd do.

He thanked the Kyubi.

**End Note: **Several re-writes and it still doesn't seem right. I wonder if that's how all writers, regardless of skill, feel? Some of you might have noticed a familiar non Naruto-verse name. Kudo's to those who did. Expect more. These cameo's will figure prominently in later chapters and will impact the story in a meaningful matter. Probably. Maybe. Feed back would be much appreciated.


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